Articles on Physical Medicine
Arthritis Part 1
Today I'm going to start a series on osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout. In these first two articles I'll deal with osteoarthritis. Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from arthritis and because it is a condition that is commonly believed to be incurable, the standard medical response is to prescribe medicines that reduce only the symptoms.
It has been my clinical experience that many of the symptoms of osteoarthritis can be reduced and alleviated through diet, exercise and stress reduction and that cartliage can be rebuilt through the use of certain supplements.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that consists of an inflammation of the joints and the surrounding tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.
Cartilage, which is found between the bones, serves an important role in joint function. Its gel-like nature provides protection to the ends of joints by acting as a shock absorber. The onset of osteoarthritis may be subtle. Primary osteoarthritis is reflective of the wear and tear process of aging. It usually starts as joint pain and stiffness after age 50. The cumulative effects of decades of use and stress to the cartilage lead to these degenerative changes. If the degeneration is strong enough it can lead to bone rubbing against bone.
Another cause of degeneration results when the number and activity of the important repair enzymes of the cartilage are greatly reduced.
Secondary arthritis is caused by some other predisposing factors such as trauma or structural abnormalities.
Symptoms can affect any part of the body - the feet, knees, back, shoulders, fingers, etc. The particular symptoms often include stiffness, pain worsening on joint use, loss of joint function, tenderness, swelling, creaking, and cracking.
It always amazes me that people think this degenerative disease is inevitable. With naturopathic care, it can be prevented and even reversed.
As I said, osteoarthritis is most often caused by the natural aging process. Age, excess weight, wear and tear, a lifetime of inadequate diet, nutritional deficiencies, and lack of exercise are often cited as factors. Skeletal defects, genetic factors, and hormonal deficiencies can also be factors in this disease.
Conventional medical treatment of osteoarthritis consists of stopping the inflammation with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). While these drugs can help to decrease the inflammation of the joints, the common side effects are well known - g.i. upset, headaches, and dizziness. A less well known side effect is that these drugs can actually add to the further degeneration of the joint cartilage. Experimental studies have shown that aspirin and other NSAIDS inhibit cartilage synthesis and accelerate cartilage destruction. Clinical studies have shown that NSAIDS use is associated with acceleration of osteoarthritis and increased joint destruction.
Another interesting fact about osteoarthritis is that there is often a lack of correlation between the severity of the degenerative changes and the amount of pain. Some people with little deformity have much pain while some with a great amount of degeneration experience little pain.
Stay tuned for my next column when I talk about solutions - how by altering the lifestyle and the processes that contribute to arthritis, you can stop the pain and the degeneration and even reverse the process in many cases.
Arthritis Part 2
In my last column I talked about the causes of osteoarthritis; this week I am going to tackle therapies.
The natural approach to treating osteoarthritis seeks to address the factors responsible for joint degeneration. Diet is important. Nutrition can accomplish a major goal in the treatment of arthritis, which is the enhancement of the repair process within the joints.
The diet needs to be rich in fruit and vegetables, which are rich sources of anti-oxidants that can protect against cellular and joint damage. All simple processed and concentrated carbohydrates should be avoided, including sugar and fruit juices. High fibre foods should be emphasized and fats should be kept to a minimum. Flavonoid rich foods such as cherries, blueberries, and blackberries are beneficial in the treatment of arthritis because they prevent the destruction of the joint structure.
A substance in the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and peppers) can inhibit normal collagen repair in the joints. Try a three-month diet free of foods from the nightshade family to see if this is a predisposing factor for your arthritis.
The elimination of food allergies can be an important step in reducing joint pain. Wheat products can often produce joint pain in people with a wheat sensitivity. Of course there may be other allergies involved so have your food sensitivities checked.
Anti-oxidants can help prevent damage to the cartilage of the bone. Vitamin E has the ability to inhibit the breakdown of cartilage as well as the ability to stimulate the manufacture of cartilage components. Vitamin C is necessary to the manufacture of collagen, the major support protein of cartilage. Deficiency in Vitamin C intake is common as we age and this deficiency is known to produce poor collagen synthesis.
Certainly one of the most impressive supplements in the treatment of osteoarthritis in the last decade had been glucosamine sulfate. Double blind studies have shown that glucosamine sulfate produces better long term results than aspirin type pills in reducing the inflammation and pain of osteoarthritis. It treats the root of the problem by promoting cartilage growth.
I also want to mention detoxification in the treatment of arthritis. A detox is often important. A detox diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish combined with a series of detox supplements can eliminate toxins and inflammatory byproducts from the blood, thereby decreasing the pain and inflammation of the joints.
Some botanicals that are useful in the treatment of osteoarthritis include a native African plant Devil’s Claw, which can act as an anti-inflammatory and have a pain killing effect on the sore joints. Boswella Serrapa can decrease inflammatory pathways, stop cartilage breakdown, and increase the blood supply to the joints.
As most people know, physical therapy can be very important in reestablishing joint integrity. Various physical therapy treatments like exercise, heat, cold, and diathermy can be beneficial in increasing joint mobility an decreasing pain. Physical activities that overly strain the joints must be avoided.
Massage therapy, physiotherapy, and chiropractic can be utilized to decrease joint strain.
I hope this column has given you a glimpse of the many things that can be done to stop and even reverse osteoarthritis. Work with your health care professional to create a health plan that works for you. Degeneration is not inevitable.
Arthritis Part 3
In my first two articles on arthritis I wrote about osteoarthritis, which is the type most people are familiar with. Today and in my next article I want to discuss rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis affects an estimated one to three per cent of Canadians. But whereas osteoarthritis most often affects older people, rheumatoid arthritis most commonly strikes those between the ages of 20 and 40. The disease affects three times more women that men.
Rheumatoid arthritis is often preceded by a low grade fever, fatigue and generalized joint stiffness and pain. Within several weeks the condition can affect one or more joints causing swelling and pain. This pain often has a symmetrical pattern and affects both sides of the body. The joints of the hands, wrists, ankles, and knees are most commonly affected.
The joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis are often hot because they are red, swollen, and warm to the touch. At first bouts of rheumatoid arthritis can come and go. However, with time, chronic inflammation causes the joints to become deformed. The goal of a natural treatment plan is early intervention to slow the progression of the joint destruction.
Rheumatoid arthritis is usually thought to be an auto-immune system illness. Auto-immune means that a person's own immune system is attacking a particular part of the body. In rheumatoid arthritis that site is the synovial lining that acts to lubricate the joints and keeps them working well.
What causes rheumatoid arthritis? As with other auto immune system disorders, we don't know for sure. A family history of rheumatoid arthritis may be one factor. For example, rheumatoid arthritis is four times more likely to occur in offspring of parents who have it.
Infection may be another cause. It seems that in rheumatoid arthritis the affected body has a higher amount of circulating immune complexes that have viral or infective products attached to them. This leads some researchers to postulate that a virus may be one of the possible contributing factors.
There is also evidence that the health of the gastro-intestinal tract may play a role in the disease. Without a healthy GI tract, food allergens may pass into the blood stream and spark an allergic response in the joints. GI tract flora have also been linked to rheumatoid arthritis and other auto immune illnesses.
Low levels of the adrenal hormone DHEA have also been proposed as a predisposing factor for this illness.
As you can see, rheumatoid arthritis is a classic example of a multi-factored disease where an assortment of genetic and environmental factors contribute to the disease process. The natural approach to treating rheumatoid arthritis addresses the question of how to increase the health of the GI tract while dealing with the challenge of decreasing the inflammatory processes.
Stay tuned for my next column where I will discuss natural treatments for this disease.
Arthritis Part 4
In my last column I wrote about rheumatoid arthritis, an auto immune disease that is an example of a multi-factorial disease involving the digestion, genetics, infections, and food allergies.
When we start treating rheumatoid arthritis, it is very important to start with the diet - a diet rich in whole foods, vegetables, and fibre, and low in sugar, meat, refined carbohydrates, and saturated fats. This diet can both help to prevent rheumatoid arthritis and be part of the treatment. The elimination of food allergies is a crucial step. Food allergies often cause inflammation in the body. Have your food sensitivities tested by an alternative practitioner.
One third of those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis have a reaction to the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tobacco). The other common food allergens are wheat, corn, meat, and dairy products.
To heal the gut, work on your digestion so that your food is better metabolized and eliminated. Digestive enzymes can help this process. Increase the health of the flora in the GI tract by adding acidophilus on a daily basis. Since animal products can increase inflammatory compounds in the body, lower your intake of these products and replace them with essential fatty acids like flax oil, evening primrose oil, and fish oil.
Studies have shown that essential fatty acids not only decrease inflammation but actually inhibit it. Several studies have shown that people with the lowest levels of antioxidants run the highest risk of contracting rheumatoid arthritis. So add anti-oxidants to your health regime. Increase your intake of vitamin C to 3,000 mgs a day in divided doses. Vitamin E and selenium are also useful anti-oxidants. Zinc helps to regulate the immune system.
Herbs that can help reduce inflammation are curcumim, the yellow pigment in turmeric, and bromelin, the anti-inflammatory enzyme found in pineapples. Both of these botanicals have been shown to have dramatic anti-inflammatory effects.
Glucosamine sulfate may also be a useful addition to make sure the cartilage between the joint spaces is not decreasing. Licorice root and ginseng contain components that possess anti-inflammatory activity and have also been shown to increase the activity of the adrenal gland DHEA. Capsicum (cayenne pepper) in a cream can stimulate and then block the transmission of the pain impulses.
Physical therapy can improve comfort and preserve joint and muscle function. Passive range of motion exercises are useful during acute flare-ups. Active range of motion exercises are more appropriate as healing occurs. Massage therapy can also help to heal these tissues.
Many of these treatments will help eliminate symptoms of mild rheumatoid arthritis. In severe cases a combination of natural therapies and drugs may be necessary. My clinical experience has shown me that natural therapies will reduce your need for drugs for a longer period of time or will help to reduce the necessary dosage.
It's important to know that things can be done to reduce your pain and discomfort.
Chronic Inflammation
In my practice I often come across tendonitis, bursitis or inflammatory neck conditions such as whiplash and my patients often don't realize they can be proactive about these conditions and lessen the duration of the discomfort or pain. It's best to start treatment right away with some of the recommendations I have outlined here.
Tendonitis and bursitis are inflammatory conditions of the tendons and the bursae. Tendons connect bone to muscle; bursae are small fluid filled sacs located between the tendons and the bones in various places in the body. The most common sites for injuries are the shoulder, the hip and the elbow. Symptoms of bursitis can include redness, swelling and dull, persistent aching. Tendonitis symptoms include sharp pain with certain movements.
The first thing I always look at when Iím treating any condition is the diet. To reduce the inflammation throughout the body you need to go on an anti-inflammatory diet. What this means (and by now all you regular readers should know this by heart) is eliminating sugar, alcohol and processed food while reducing red meat consumption. That leaves lots of alkaline foods such as veggies, fruits and fish protein.
The next thing I always suggest for injuries, including surgery, is a homeopathic remedy called arnica. Arnica is made from a plant found in the mountains. If you have only one homeopathic remedy in your cupboard this needs to be it. I carry a bottle in my car and I have a bottle in my attache case and I often end up giving it away.
When properly prescribed for physical and emotional trauma, it can greatly reduce all symptoms. I've even used it for sunstroke when I was out in the sun all day without proper covering. I've even had surgeons comment on how rapidly incisions heal without swelling and pain. An arnica cream can also be applied topically to inflamed tendons and bursae, this can be a very effective addition to your healing arsenal.
Useful natural anti-inflammatories are bromelain and curcumin. Bromelain is a common digestive enzyme but when taken between meals it works as an anti-inflammatory in the circulation. Curcumin, Also known as turmeric, has wonderful anti-inflammatory qualities that potentiate the effects of bromelain and can reduce many of the symptoms of tendonitis and bursitis.
Pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories can cause deficiencies of folic acid, especially in cells with the most rapid rates of turnover such as the red and white blood cells. If you need to take these drugs, make sure you are supplementing your diet with a B complex.
I also recommend icing the sore area as much as possible. Ice is a wonderful natural medicine. If your injury feels better with cold, ice for 20 minutes four times a day until the inflammation is reduced. After icing apply arnica cream and within a few days you may feel that you are gaining control of your symptoms.
Important nutritional supplements are your general multi-vitamin, calcium/magnesium and a high dose of Omega 3 with fish oil being the best for body pain.
Adjunctive therapies that are also useful, especially closest to the beginning of the injury, are massage therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture and physiotherapy.
If you have a body condition treat it quickly. Chronic conditions are much more difficult to turn around.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a condition I see more and more in my practice. I'm sure fibromyalgia has always been around but in the last 7 - 10 years we've seen a dramatic increase.
Fibro mean muscle and myalgia means pain. So fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles. It’s like having the flu all the time. The symptoms include varying degrees of muscle pain, aching, fatigue, insomnia, depression and often irritable bowel syndrome.
Fibromyalgia affects about 10 per cent of adults between the ages of 25 - 55 and women five times as often as men. It often resembles Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but fibromyalgia affects the muscles more. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, as the name suggests, involves much more fatigue.
Diagnosis can be difficult because blood tests and X-rays show no abnormalities. The general indicators for diagnosis are widespread pain in all four quadrants of the body and pain in the back's trigger points.
There are conditions or combinations of conditions that may precipitate the onset of fibromyalgia. A muscle injury or postural overcompensation can strain the muscles and lead to a fibromyalgia type syndrome.
Many people with fibromyalgia have type A influenza antibodies. Often fibromyalgia sets in after a chronic flu that doesn't go away.
Food allergies and chemical sensitivities are present in almost half of fibromyalgia sufferers. Chronic yeast infections or candida can allow toxins to be absorbed directly into the blood stream thus triggering a fibromyalgia like syndrome.
There also seems to be an emotional connection. People with fibromyalgia are often either perfectionists or workaholics and so suffer high levels of stress. Emotional tension often reflects in the physical body.
When I first started treating fibromyalgia I was puzzled by the condition. Over the years I have realized that naturopathic treatments can have good success with fibromyalgia.
I start treatment with a complete detox. The idea is to get the toxins out of the muscles so that they can work better. Detox is done with a month-long diet of only whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables coupled with a regime of herbs and supplements to help purify the liver, kidneys and blood.
The diet after detox needs to consists of whole grains, 50 per cent vegetables and fruits and moderate protein. And you have to eliminate things that deplete your immune system such as sugar, caffeine and foods high in fat. Find out if you have food sensitivities and remove those substances from your diet.
Exercise is very important because it improves muscle tone, increases blood flow to the soft tissues and stimulates the natural pain killers in the brain.
Try doing aerobic exercise three to four times a week with a daily 15 minute stretching program. You need to be diligent with this. Even if it hurts, try to work your edge.
Many people feel better after a month on this regime. Stress tends to tighten muscles so a daily stress reduction technique is important. Abdominal breathing, meditation, progressive relaxation - any system that will help you relax the muscles is great. Do it several times each day.
It's important to find new ways to react to daily events. Stressful emotions are often based on interpretation rather than hard facts. And everyone can benefit by expanding their range of responses to unpleasant situations.
It's important to look at your workload. How can you streamline it? If you tend to be a perfectionist look at why that is so. Many perfectionists are trying to compensate for not feeling good about themselves. So they focus on controlling their external world.
The most useful supplement I've found for fibromyalgia is a magnesium/malic acid combination. This supplement helps produce and carry oxygen to the cells and muscles. Malic acid may also help to decrease aluminum in the body. Vitamin C also helps detoxify the body and is a useful anti-oxidant. The B complex helps to reduce stress. Essential fatty acids from flaxseed or evening primrose act as natural anti-inflammatories and aid general muscle tone.
Licorice root or adrenal tissue will help to strengthen the adrenal glands and so increase the body's resistance to stress. St. John's Wort decreases the adrenal hormone, cortisol, thus deepening sleep. It also acts as an anti-depressant.
With diligence there is hope for fibromyalgia sufferers.
GLS
There is real hope for arthritis sufferers. Veterinarians have known about it for some time and, who knows, it may be pet owners who first started taking GLS (glucosamine sulfate) for their own arthritic pain.
The conventional treatment for arthritis is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. (NSAIDs: i.e. aspirins) And they work - they decrease the pain. But the latest research indicates that they may actually be accelerating joint destruction and causing more problems down the road. The drugs work by inhibiting the enzymes involved in the creation of the inflammatory products. But in that process, they also inhibit the enzymes that manufacture cartilage. So we're finding that long-term usage of NSAIDs are causing more problems for the future.
Often there are side effects with these drugs: gastrointestinal upsets, bleeding, headaches and dizziness. NSAIDs are a classic example of drugs that suppress an unwanted symptom of pain but also promote the progression of the disease.
Ideally, what we want is something that will suppress the pain while promoting healing at the same time. GLS has been proving that it does just that.
I often have patients like Mary, who is 50 years old. When I ask her how she's feeling she says, "Well, I'm feeling fairly good. I have some joint pain but that's normal for my age."
No, absolutely not. Joint pain is not normal. It's a red flag. When I work with patients I want to make sure they have no joint pain. If Mary is 50, she's going to be alive for another three or four decades. If she has joint pain in middle age, it's going to get worse. I want to stop it now.
GLS is a simple molecule that’s produced naturally in the body. It's made up of amino acids and sugars. Its function is to stimulate the production of molecules known as glycosaminoglycans - or GAGs for short. GAGs are a key component of cartilage. As we age we lose the ability to produce this molecule and the cartilage loses it's ability to act as a shock absorber.
The sulfate part of this molecule is an essential nutrient for joint tissue. Science has found that many people who have arthritis have low sulfur in their joints. The function of sulfur is to stabilize the joints.
GLS is becoming widely studied. Currently there are at least 30 studies that show GLS to be significantly better than placebos. After three weeks of taking GLS studies show the same pain reduction effect as with NSAIDs.
It takes at least two to four weeks for GLS to start working. With NSAIDs, pain relief comes far more quickly but at three weeks, the GLS catches up in the pain relief area and continues on. The effect of GLS is accumulative and long lasting.
We think it gets to the root of this problem by actually building the joint cartilage - and this relieves the pain at the same time. Normal dosage is 500 mgs three times per day. There are few side effects although some people may experience a slight upset stomach. If that happens, try taking it at the end of a meal. If you're on diuretics, you may have to take a higher dose. If you're heavier than 200 pounds, you also need to take more. So if you're over 200 lbs. or on diuretics the rule of thumb is 20 mgs per kilogram of body weight.
Health food stores carry GLS and GLS combined with chondritin. I don't know if chondritin is necessary. My recommendation is to try the GLS alone first.
If you're going to try GLS, stick with it for at least six weeks and see if it works for you. Also try the recommendations for arthritis in the article I wrote two weeks ago
Homeopathic Remedies for Injury
Arnica is the most used homeopathic remedy in the world. Once you've used it to treat an injury, you too will probably think of it as a miracle remedy. Its success is almost guaranteed and it should definitely be in everyone's purse or glove compartment.
Arnica is made form a plant called Leopard's Bane. You can often see its bright yellow multi-petalled flowers when hiking at higher elevations. Interestingly, in folk medicine it was called "fall herb" because it was commonly used by mountain dwellers who fell and injured themselves. When made into a homeopathic remedy it becomes even more effective. I recommend it for any kind of trauma whether by accident or surgery. It dramatically reduces swelling, relieves pain and reduces bruising.
Arnica is most effective when used directly after an injury. In health food stores you can often find it at 30x or 30c potencies, 30c being the higher of the two. I often give doses of 200c to my patients for more dramatic results.
Arnica has no side effects and can be taken by anyone from children to seniors and can be combined with any drugs. I often recommend it for newborns and mothers to reduce the trauma of childbirth. After a sports injury it is best to continue taking it until the injury is well on its way to healing.
Arnica is also available in cream form to be applied to injuries that have not broken the skin. This remedy could possibly irritate an open wound or cut. Don, a 45-year-old fisherman, keeps it on his boat and rubs it into his hands every day to keep them limber and less sore.
For broken bones there are basic nutrients in homeopathic remedies that can help reduce the pain and increase the speed of the healing of the bones. Initially I often use Arnica to reduce the pain and swelling and afterwards the homeopathic remedy Symphytum (bone set) to aid the healing of the bone. If there is deep bone pain, a dose of Eupatorium may be called for.
For tendonitis or strain from overuse, several homeopathic remedies including Ruta, Rhus Tox or Bryonia may help depending on the symptoms. Often natural anti-inflammatories such as Bromelain, Curcumin or enzymes like Protease will shorten the healing time. These last supplements are best taken on an empty stomach.
Head injuries can result in residual symptoms for weeks, months and even years afterwards. Remedies including Arnica, Nat. Sulph and Hypericum should be considered. Injures to the nervous system caused by trauma such as slamming your finger in a car door are greatly helped using the homeopathic Hypericum. This remedy can also be used after dental work when the nerves have been particularly damaged.
Because homeopathic remedies are not biochemical but more energetic in their nature, they are very safe to administer under any circumstances. It's prudent to have a first aid kit with these remedies at hand because they work best when administered promptly. If you had to choose only one homeopathic remedy, Arnica is the one because its benefits are truly amazing.
Strontium
I've recently come across a supplement that you can use to reverse osteoporosis. It's a safe and natural mineral that stimulates the growth of new bone and it's been around for millions of years. It's called strontium and it's a mineral that Baby Boomers will recognize as part of the strontium 90 scare in the 1950s. This radioactive form of strontium was used in the manufacture of nuclear devices and fallout from weapons testing was noted in several sites around the world. However, that was strontium 90 and I'm talking about the natural form of strontium, which is closely related to calcium and magnesium on the periodic table and has been shown to have a wonderful bone building effect.
Osteoporosis is caused by a loss of minerals in the bones, particularity calcium. This mineral loss causes bones to weaken and break. Two qualities make up bone strength: hardness and flexibility. A treatment goal in osteoporosis is to replenish the minerals in the bones. Bone loss accelerates in menopausal women because of the drop in estrogen levels. Existing drugs for treating osteoporosis as well as calcium and vitamin D work to reduce the tearing down of existing bone. The exciting thing about strontium is that there is clear evidence that this mineral not only decreases the breakdown of bones but also increases the formation of new bone tissue.
Strontium is found naturally in modest amounts in whole grains, vegetables, legumes and seafood but to change bone density an extra supplement is necessary.
I want to quote some of the results of studies done on strontium - results I consider exciting. In a double blind study involving 72 centres in 12 countries over three years, 1,649 patients were given strontium plus calcium and vitamin D while the other group received calcium and vitamin D only. The strontium group experienced a 41 per cent reduction of risk of a vertebral fracture (fracture of the spine) and lumbar bone density increased 11.4 per cent. There were no toxic side effects.
In another study 160 women in early menopause but without osteoporosis took either calcium alone or calcium and strontium. The women taking calcium alone experienced a loss of .5 per cent of their bone mass but the calcium and strontium group had a .66 per cent gain in one year. By the end of two years the strontium and calcium users had an increase of 2.46 per cent of lumbar mass and no side effects were reported.
There are two important steps you need to take to insure that you reap the full benefits from this mineral. First, make sure that you take at least 1,000 mgs of calcium per day or the strontium may not be as effective. Second, do not ingest the strontium at the same time as the calcium because both minerals use the same pathways for absorption. If they are combined in a supplement the effects of strontium will be negated. So, I suggest you take strontium in the morning before breakfast and calcium at bedtime because calcium also has that extra benefit of relaxing the muscles so that you can sleep better.
So for those of you who want to increase bone mass, strontium might be a welcome addition to your regime.
Walking
Many people are preparing very diligently for many kinds of walks these days, and I think that's great! There's a lot of money being raised for good causes. But I also want you to prepare for the walk so that you enjoy it as well as accomplish a good deed.
Hopefully you started your training regime months before the big day. Interval walking and/or running is important. You need to vary the time and speed of your walking and to increase your distance slowly. Add Nordic poles to increase your upper body strength. Also, make sure you're adding 15 - 30 minutes of yoga or stretching to your daily regime. If you're participating in a long walk some simple stretches done in the middle of the walk can diminish any unpleasant after-effects.
Proper nutrition before and during the walk can make all the difference in fatigue and pain levels. Make sure your mineral levels are adequate by supplementing with a good multi-vitamin and with calcium/magnesium and potassium well ahead of the event. To help with the lactic acid build-up and the oxidation that occurs with extended exercise, I suggest a protein powder with creatine.
If it's a very long walk or run I recommend taking two homeopathic remedies alternating every hour: arnica and rhus tox in 200c potency. These effectively decrease the lactic acid build-up and help with overall trauma to the muscles and joints. These can also be taken for a few days after the walk to speed healing. You may also want to rub arnica cream into those injured or tender muscles.
Choosing the right clothing and shoes for the event is very important. Make sure the shoes are well broken in before the event. Running shoes with good ankle and arch support are the recommended style. Hiking boots are too heavy for a long walk. The new polypropylene clothing wicks perspiration away and dries quickly so itís ideal for rainy or sunny conditions. Wear a hat to keep out the rain or the heat.
A trick in very hot weather is to pour water on your head. The drying cools down the body. A tip from a friend who hikes in high altitudes is to put snow inside your hat and let the melting water cool you down.
Two days prior to the walk, eat lots of healthy carbohydrates like brown rice and beans. The day before the walk or run, eat small amounts of healthy foods frequently - this will mimic what youíll experience on the day of the excursion. It's absolutely mandatory that you hydrate yourself well before and during the walk. Consistently drink 10 - 12 glasses of water per day.
To prevent blisters tape up your feet before you start the walk with moleskin or some similar blister prevention material. If you donít know where the sensitive areas are on your feet, tape your heels and toes and as soon as you feel pain, stop immediately and tape that part of the foot. Don't wear cotton on walks, cotton can chafe or cause blisters. Polypropylene or a mixture of polypropylene and wool will wick away moisture from your feet.
These preventative measures will save you hours and days of suffering during and after the walk. Finally, keep your own pace. Walking is great exercise and it's a wonderful thing when walking can also raise money for a good cause.